Conan, I'm an actor

"Ran-neechan, Professor Agasa just called and said he has a new invention that needs testing, so I'll be staying at Professor Agasa's house this week." Conan said, standing at the door. "I'm leaving now."

"Wait, Conan, I want to go too!" Before Ran could finish speaking, Conan had already disappeared at the end of the stairs.

"Honestly, they're all like this!" Xiaolan looked at the entrance to the stairs. "It was a perfectly good weekend, and now I'm all alone."

As soon as Conan arrived at Professor Agasa's house, his cell phone rang, but the number was one he had never seen before.

"Who is it?" Conan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's me, Tetsuo Shinjo." Shinjo's voice came from the other end of the phone. "I asked Kogoro for your number."

"Ah, it's Uncle Shinjo. What's up?" Conan asked with a forced smile.

"This is my personal number, save it. You should be with Professor Agasa now."

Conan looked at the house number of Agasa's house and felt a sense of defeat. The other side had found out everything about him, but he knew nothing about the other side.

Chapter 27 Moonshadow Island in the Fog

“Looks like I guessed right.” Shinjo coughed. “I’m calling you to warn you that a detective’s job isn’t just about uncovering the truth. You have to balance life and truth yourself. Holmes isn’t enough to defeat that dark organization.”

Conan was stunned; he still didn't understand why Shinjo was telling him all this.

“I knew you were going to the island, that’s why I warned you. Oh, and when you see Professor Agasa, please give him my regards.” Shinjo paused for a moment. “Also, ask him to make me the inner part of the bow tie; I’ll make the outer shell myself.”

Conan stared at the bow tie on his collar, his expression one of utter embarrassment. He thought he'd disguised himself perfectly, but it turned out someone had seen through him immediately. Seriously, are secret agents really that amazing? Uncle Shinjo seems even more skilled than those agents on TV.

At this moment, at the entrance of the Koshimizu Detective Agency, Koshimizu got out of the car and went straight to the second floor of the agency, obviously to prepare clothes for his trip to Tsukikage Island.

Xincheng parked his car with a bit of a sigh. Just as he was about to say hello to Yueshui, a phone call came in.

"Who is it?" Shinjo asked impatiently.

"It's me, Mr. Shinjo, lawyer Piper." The Japanese on the other end was broken; it seemed to be a foreigner.

"What do you want from me?" When Xincheng heard the name Pibor, his expression softened.

"Here's the thing," Attorney Piper said. "A friend of yours named Jiang Xiaobai entrusted a sum of money to our firm. When he entrusted it to us, he signed an agreement that if he didn't contact us within three years, the money would be gifted to you. Now that the three-year period has expired, we are contacting you and hope you will accept the money."

“I remember he mentioned something to me, but I’m in Japan right now and it’s inconvenient for me to leave. Could one of your people come to Japan? I’ll reimburse their airfare.” A hint of joy flashed across Shinjo’s face.

When he arrived in Japan a year ago, he only had a few hundred thousand yen in cash and a few land deeds, so he was practically penniless.

Having spent so many years in the criminal organization, he hadn't done much work, only focusing on making money. However, most of his wealth was under the organization's surveillance. At the time, he had just faked his death, and if he touched this wealth, the organization would know he wasn't dead, and they would send assassins to hunt him down.

However, he also had a backup plan. If Jiang Xiaobai died, his multiple assets would be transferred to Shinjo Tetsuo after certain conditions were met. He could openly receive these assets in Shinjo Tetsuo's name, and even if the organization suspected something, they would not be able to provide any evidence.

The lawyer opposite, Piper, agreed to the request without hesitation. The amount of money involved was huge; the 0.5% commission alone was equivalent to three years' salary for him. Even if he had to pay out of pocket, he would go, let alone get his airfare reimbursed.

After resolving Pibor's matter, Xincheng went upstairs. Yue Shui's room was wide open and had been ransacked.

"Hey, can you please be a little more mindful? There are members of the opposite sex upstairs, can you please stop leaving your personal belongings lying around?"

"You're not human!" Yue Shui said, somewhat exasperated. "Come help me find where I put my camera! And my sun hat!"

“Three months ago, you said you were going to study for your university major and wouldn’t be taking on any more long-distance jobs. These disguise items were packed up and sent to the storage room. You can still find them if you go look for them now.” Xincheng sighed. “He’s only a few years old, and he’s already so forgetful.”

"I've been busy lately..."

After returning to his room, Xincheng quickly changed into a trench coat. It was fine in the city at this time of year, but it was a bit cold at sea, and the island was quite humid.

After putting on his gear, Shinjo took out a briefcase from under the bed. Opening the briefcase, he found a special evening gown inside. Although it was a formal dress, the hem and trouser legs were finished with hems for ease of movement.

A pure white smiling mask lay on top of the outfit, with a slight burn mark on the lower left corner of the mask.

Looking at the contents of the box, Shinjo sighed, "Forget it, I'll take it with me. It wouldn't be good if Conan saw my face if he came to the island."

After closing his suitcase, Shinjo immediately called Ochiai and asked him to rent a yacht and be on standby on Tsukikage Island starting the next night.

Ochiai had no objection to this. He was already on Shinjo's pirate ship, and it was unrealistic to jump ship now. Since that was the case, he might as well accept it obediently. Besides, being a ferryman was better than writing a letter in Moriarty's name to the television station to provoke the police.

After everything was prepared, we just had to wait to set off. The earliest ship wouldn't depart until tomorrow morning.

Shinjo glanced at the schedule and saw that there were only two ferries, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 3 p.m. He and Mori took the morning ferry, so Conan and Professor Agasa must have taken the afternoon ferry.

Meanwhile, in a bar

Gin sat at the bar but didn't drink. He hadn't drunk any alcohol for over half a month. The stitches on his abdominal gunshot wound had only been removed two days ago, and the doctor had told him not to smoke or drink recently.

He was never one to listen to advice, but this time he unusually followed the doctor's orders because he wanted to recover quickly and then take revenge.

"Brother, there's a phone call." Vodka respectfully handed over the phone.

Gin glanced at the number and frowned. Was Vermouth causing him trouble again?

"Hello? What else is it?" Gin asked impatiently.

“You need to go to Moonshadow Island to find someone,” Vermouth’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “Take all the elites from the Japanese branch with you, or you’ll suffer a crushing defeat.”

“Moonshadow Island?” Gin frowned; he had never heard of this island.

As an emperor with a dark side, he remembered all the important locations in Japan. Since he didn't remember this island, that proves that the island...

“There was a group of medicine sellers on Moonshadow Island, but they were too small at the time, so the organization didn’t pay much attention to them.” Vermouth looked at the skyscrapers outside the window and swirled her wine glass. “Later, this group of medicine sellers had internal strife, and it remained in a state of minor skirmishes, so the organization gave up on paying attention to them.”

"What's there to care about in a guy who's been abandoned?" Gin scoffed.

“Just a few hours ago, an account accessed Moonshadow Island’s data. The account name was Jiang Xiaobai.” Vermouth sighed. “The dead have been resurrected.”

"This is another one you've botched?" Gin opened his cigarette case, took a cigarette, and lit it. "Who else knows about this?"

“RUM has a very important secret, a secret that could threaten the BOSS. RUM will not let this opportunity pass.”

"Let's wait for news." Gin hung up the phone, took a deep drag, then stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette. He turned to Vodka and said, "Tell the people who are free to leave for Moonshadow Island."

Chapter 28 The Beginning Beneath the Sea Fog

"This fog is so thick! Hey, is it really okay to go out to sea in this weather?" Kogoro Mori asked loudly, looking at the sailors who were tidying up the anchor chain.

Shinjo emerged from the cabin, glanced at Kogoro Mouri arguing with the crew, then looked towards the bow of the ship and sighed. The sea was shrouded in fog; visibility was reduced to less than 50 meters. No wonder Kogoro was hesitant. If it weren't for the case, they would never have boarded the ship in this weather.

At this moment, Koshimizu also came out of the cabin. Seeing the weather, he became somewhat depressed.

"Didn't you come to the island to investigate the incident?" Shinjo said with a smile, looking at Koshimizu whose face had already fallen. "The weather doesn't affect you, does it?"

“But better weather can improve one’s mood, can’t it?” Yue Shui said with some dissatisfaction. “Besides, after things are resolved, I might still be on the island for a few more days.”

Upon hearing Yue Shui's words, Xin Cheng couldn't help but shake his head. "If you stay for a few more days, the islanders will probably want to kick you out."

Just then, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard, and soon the outline of a small island appeared before them.

At that moment, Kogoro Mouri came out from the cabin and stopped next to Shinjo, indicating that he had something to say to him.

"I'll talk to Uncle Mori about some personal matters first, and I'll be right back." Shinjo greeted Koshimizu and then followed Kogoro Mori to the stern of the ship.

"What do we do next? Keiji Aso didn't leave me any contact information. How are we going to find him after we get to the island?" Kogoro Mouri asked bluntly. "I have no experience with this kind of thing. Can you give me some advice?"

“Your current identity is that of a detective, not a police officer who has to go undercover.” Shinjo patted Kogoro Mouri on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Relax, don’t be so tense, just let things take their course.”

"What do you mean 'let nature take its course'? Those guys on the island selling..." Before Mori could finish speaking, Shinjo covered his mouth.

"Are you out of your mind? There's only one route to Moonshadow Island, and the rest are just fishing boats. The captain and crew of this boat might be members of their gang." Shinjo glared at Mori, then looked ahead of the boat, only breathing a sigh of relief when he saw no one coming.

"Aren't you being a little too neurotic?" Kogoro realized that his behavior just now was stupid, but he felt that Shinjo was making a mountain out of a molehill.

“We don’t know if we’re friends or enemies with Keiji Aso, but we’re definitely enemies with those people. They’ve been entrenched on the island for so many years, and their influence is deeply entrenched. We’re in a situation where we’re going in alone, so it’s better to be cautious.” Shinjo thought for a moment and said, “After you get on the island, go and check the islanders’ roster and tell them you’re looking for Keiji Aso.”

"Wouldn't that expose our presence? That's too risky." Kogoro Mouri frowned.

“Asou Keiji is dead. There are only two kinds of people who can use his name: those who want to avenge him, such as his son, and those who are members of the organization. After we expose our identities, those criminals will turn their attention to the fake Asou Keiji, and they will do everything they can to eliminate this troublemaker.” Shinjo coughed. “In that case, the danger level on our side will be much lower.”

"One last question, are you carrying a gun?" Kogoro Mori asked, staring into Shinjo's eyes. "Answer me."

"There are only two. I need one for myself." Shinjo took out his spare revolver and handed it to Mori. "This gun doesn't have enough stopping power. It can only be used as a self-defense weapon. Don't have too high expectations for this gun."

Mori took the pistol, skillfully inspected the cylinder and the gun, and after confirming that there were no problems, he reached out to Shinjo once again.

Shinjo sighed helplessly, then took out a handful of bullets from his bag and placed them in Mori's hand.

"Isn't it a bit short? They're selling medicine," Mori asked with some concern.

"Unless these guys have undergone a major upgrade in their equipment in recent years, there won't be any problems. At most, they'll just have some short guns. With your shooting skills, you can easily suppress them without any equipment disadvantage."

Since things had already come to this point, Mori naturally couldn't say anything more.

A dozen minutes later, the rubber tires at the bow of the boat deformed violently after the impact, and the boat finally came to a steady stop on the dock. The sailors immediately threw out a rope, tied it securely, and then took out planks to build a passage to the island.

Kogoro Mouri and his two companions naturally waited until the planks were laid out before leaving. The island's natives jumped directly onto the pier, and by the time the three of them had crossed the planks, the islanders had already disappeared.

Following the signs, Mori quickly arrived at the island's service center and said he was looking for a man named Keiji Aso.

"Keiji Aso, this is strange, I can't find that name." The guy in charge of finding the roster was also a bit of a headache.

"Please take another look, okay? There's a letter he wrote to me here." Mori took out the envelope and showed the side signed by Keiji Aso to the staff member opposite him.

"But it's not registered on the resident register." The staff member was also a bit confused. "I just arrived on this island, so I'm not really sure either."

Shinjo and Koshimizu stood behind Kogoro Mouri, watching the uncle's superb acting skills and couldn't help but laugh. How come they hadn't discovered this uncle's acting talent before?

"What happened?" Just then, a well-dressed director walked over.

"Director, we heard that this gentleman came to the island at the request of the island's residents," the staff member said.

"Please??" The director was also taken aback. This small island was in a semi-isolated state with very little contact with the outside world, and the island's residents had good relationships. Even if an islander needed help, they would ask other islanders for help first. Why would someone ask an outsider to come to the island?

"Yes, it's a gentleman named Keiji Aso." The director's expression changed when the staff member mentioned Keiji Aso.

"What? You mean Keiji Aso!" The director's expression turned extremely terrified.

In an instant, the expressions of everyone in the office, from the staff to the islanders waiting for their turn, changed. Some of the more taboo islanders cursed a few times before turning away and leaving their seats, abandoning their business. The rest whispered amongst themselves, as if the name Keiji Aso was a taboo subject on the island.

Shinjo had anticipated this, but Koshimizu and Kogoro Mouri looked much worse; things seemed to be worse than they had imagined.

Chapter 29 Luxury Yachts at the Marina

Just as Kogoro Mouri was about to press for more information, the director answered his question, "That's impossible! Because he died more than ten years ago!"

Kogoro Mouri's face immediately showed a shocked expression, while Shinjo watched his exaggerated performance and felt like laughing.

After speaking, the director realized his lapse in composure. Looking at the islanders and staff who had gathered around, he waved them away and then invited Kogoro Mouri, Koshimizu, and Shinjo behind him into an office, where he poured them tea.

"Director, could you tell me about Keiji Aso?" Kogoro Mouri asked, frowning. "I've noticed that the people on the island are quite averse to this name."